Vacuum liquid-supply apparatus



H. KERSHAW. I vAcuuM LIQUID SUPPLY APPARATs'. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 2l I92I-I 1,431,816. l muted 001 10,1922.

Patented @ch 10, 1922.

VACUUM LIQUID-SUPPLY APARATUS.

Application'sied october 27, 1921.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it knownl that I, HENRY KnRsHAw, a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marionv and State of Indiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Vacuum Liquid- Supply Apparatus, of which the following is aspeciiication.

This invention relates to vacuum controlledfuel feeding apparatus 'for motorvehicle engines, whereby the liquid fuel is drawn from a low level supply to an elevated receptacle and then permitted to iiow from the latter by gravity. to the carburetor of the engine. rllhe invention has for `its object to provide in `an apparatus of the kind stated a novel and improved structure .andmode of operation as willV be described and detail hereinafter, and in order that the samev may be better understood, reference is had to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a verticalsection of a receptacle showing the valve mechanism contained therein; Fig. 2 is a similar view showing a different position of ia valve mechanism, and Fig. 3 is an edge View of certain parts associated with the valve mechanism.

As is well understood in the art, the vacuum feed system employs. a tank shown at 5 inthe drawing, said tank being divided into `upper and lower chambers 6 and 7. The upper chamber is connected to the intake manifold of the engine by a suitable pipe 8, so .that when in operation, theisuction produced by the-engine creates a partial vacuum in the chamber, whereby liquid fuel is drawn in through a pipe 9 leading from a low level supply. The partition 10 which divides Vthe tank into the two chambers has an outlet 11 into the lower chamber, the same being provided with a' check-valve as usual. bottom of the tank'has an outlet 12 to which is connected a pipe (not shown) which delivers the fuel from chamber 7 to the carburetor by gravity.

In the upper chamber 6 is a float 13 which operates in conjunction with a valve for controlling the entry of fuel into said chamber. This valve mechanism is designed and arranged to open the chamber 6 to the external atmosphere, and whenthis occurs, it will be obvious that there is not enough suction in the chamber to draw fuel thereinto and The l Serial No. 510,928.

hence the iiow of fuel is interrupted. As the fuel continues to flow from chamber 6 into chamber 7, the lowering fuel level in the former Vcauses the iioat 13 to go down, and when a predetermined low level is reached, the float, through certain connections to be presently'described, closes the'valve, whereupon the suction through pipe 8 again estab lishes a partial Vacuum in thecharnber 6, and the flow of fuel thereinto from the source of supply is resumed.

The valve referred to is-shown at 141 in Fig. 2. The top 15 of the tank 5 has an air vent port 16 which is controlled by the valve, said valve moving downwardly to closing position. The port 16 leads to a passage 17 which opens into the external atmosphere, said passage being made in a thickened portion 18 of the tank top 15. The part 18 also has a hollow upwardextension l19 at one end into which the valve 14 moves upwardly when it opens, as shown in Fig. 2. The part 19 is closed by a screw plug 20 the inner end of which also serves to limit the upward travel of the valve 14:.

The valve 14 has a depending stem 21 which extends through port 16 into the `chamber 6, and works in a guide 22 carried by the tank top 15. y

From the tank top 15 also depend two laterally spaced bracket arms 23 between which seats and is pivoted, as shown at 24:, a lever 25 having one. end connected to a suitable tting 26 secured to the top of the iioat 13. To the other end of the lever, this end being forked, is pivoted as shown at 27, between the fork branches, one end of a link 28, said link extendingv upwardly y and having its other end connected to a lever 29 which is pivoted, as shown at 3 0,- between the bracket arms 23. One end of the lever 29 is forked and carries a cross pin 31 which passes through a slot 32 in link 28, whereby a loose or sliding connection is made between said lever and link.` The other end of lever 29 is also forked to straddle the valve stem 21 between two vertically spaced collars or other abutments 33 thereon, whereby the motion of the lever is transmitted to the valve stem. l

By the hereinbefore described connections, the lowering of the iioat 13 to a predetermined level causes valve 14 to close, whereas when the ioat rises to a certain predetermined height, the valve opens. Fig. 2 shows the iioat 13 at the limit of its upward travel, the valve 14 having been opened. When the iioat goes down the end of lever 25 to which the link 28 isconnected swings upwardly toward the end of lever 29 to which the link is also connected, and when the predetermined downward travel of the oat has been reached the lever'25 engages the lever 29 and swings the latter' to the position shown in Fig. 1, thereby pulling the stem 21 down and closing valve 14. The link 28 ot course goes up with the lever 25, so that the cross pin 31 is now near the upper end of the link slot v32. As the lioat goes up` the lever 25 swings away 'from lever 29 and draws link 28 down, and when the float reaches the limit of its upward` movement the upper end of link slot 82 engages pin 31 and swings lever l29 to push valve stem 21 upwardly and move the valve 14 to open position, as shown in Fig. 2. v

t will be noted that the end of the lever 29 to which the' link 28 is connected is made heavier than the end which is connected to the stem 21 of the valve 14, sothat the lever acts as a counterbalance, and has a normal tendency to swing in a direction to open the valve. However, when the valve is closed, the vacuum or suction in the chamber 6 tends to hold it closed until the float 13 rises ,and draws the link 28 down far enough to bring the upper end of theslot 32 in contact with the cross pin 31, whereupon the valve is lifted slightly ott its seat. This relieves the valve of the suction tending to hold it closed, and the weighted end of lever 29 now swings down to push the'valve wide open to completely destroy the vacuum in the chamber 6. Thus no i'urtherfuel can be drawn into the latter. It the motor should stop when the float has risen but partially, a cessation of the' suction would ensue, whereupon the weighted end of the lever'29 would cause the same to swing in' a direction to open the -valve 14. This would completely 'relieve the vacuum and nof `further action would'take place until the motor is again started, and its suction ldrawsthe valve into closed position.

still down, it is safe to assume that, with the present mechanism in good order, the stopping was due to faulty ignitionV or some extraneous cause. Hence, with the ault remedied, there 'should be sufficient fuel in the carburetor to enable the engine to start, causing, with the parts positioned per Fig. 1, a new supply oi fuel to be drawn into the chamber (i i'or delivery to the carburetor.

The mechanism does not require the use of a spring and it does not violently jerk the valve 14 open or closed. Wear of all the parts is therefore reduced to a minimum. and it isalso possible to use almost any metal in the construction ont the valve seat. The

apparatus feedsy steady under all conditions,-

and it does not aii'ect the even running of the motor.

I claim: v

1. In a vacuum liquid supply'apparatus, a vacuum kchamber having an air-ventport,

yavalve controlling said port, a lever having anoperative connection at one end with the valve, a link having a sliding connection at oneend with the other end ofA the lever, a second lever connected at one end to the other end of the link, and a float connected to the other end of the lsecond lever.

2. In a vacuumliquid supply apparatus, a vacuum chamber` having an` air-vent port, a

valve controlling said port, a lever having an operative connection at'onel end with the valve, a link having asliding connection at one end with the other end of the lever, a

vsecond lever connected at one end'to the other end of the link, said end of lthe second lever being positioned to, engage the end of the first-mentioned lever to which the link is connected, and a float connected tothe other end of the second lever. Y

.3. In a vacuum liquid'supply apparatus, a vacuum chamber having an air-vent port, a valve controlling said port, a lever having an operative' connection vat one end with the valve, alink having a sliding connection at one end with the other end or' the lever, said lever end being weighted, a second lever connected atone end to" the other end'of the link, and a loatconnected to the other end lof the second lever. 'the motor should stop' while the float is In testimony whereofl aiiix mysignature.

HENRY `KERSIIAW.V 

